new to snake care

[nethna]

hello everyone,
ive got a few questions to ask,
over the last few months ive become the new adoptive mum of a garter snake, his previous owner wasnt too interested in him and forgot about him, so i became its carer.
he is average 80cms long, and appears to be in good condtion. at the moment he is housed in a small tank 46cm lengthX 30cmwidth X 17 high with a heat pad. i know its too small and i would like to upgrade to a better housing for him, what size should i go for? ive seen tall tanks in the local shop (exo terra brand ) would that be ok?
in addtion within the last few weeks he has become less active and preferres to hide under his bedding. could he be hibernating?
also ive tried to feed him on other food stuffs than goldfish but he refuses to take any interest, i use a supplement for his water at the moment.
sorry for the questions, this is very new to me!!

[gregmonsta]

Hi there, don't worry about the questions :) . Exo-terra tanks are perfectly fine as long as you provide plenty of things to climb to fully utilise the height. Ideally a tank that would allow snakey to fully stretch out ie 3' in this case would be best (wooden vivaria have a lot of plus points for this size as they keep the heat better). There are a lot of threads on this forum about convincing your snake to try other things. Have you tried strips of trout or scenting? ... Maybe your snake likes the motion so you could try offering food items with tweezers? ... Hope this helps :)

[CrazyHedgehog]

Hello and welcome!!
Have you any idea what kind of garter he is? if not, post a pic we love the challenge? (well not me personally as I am pretty useless, but the others do...I just like the photos!!)

Yes bigger tanks are better, but sometimes an old fish tank in the garage, or sideboard that could be re used as.... don't always have to buy new... check you or fmily/neighbours haven't got something ideal you could use first... as greg says, if you buy a tall one, make sure you utalise the space.

As to feeding, have you tried one goldfish, lopping about in a dish of pinkies..... as greg said, try movement, maybe worms might be a good starter... anyway, read some of the articles, there is lots to read!! good luck and welcome!


hello everyone,
ive got a few questions to ask,
over the last few months ive become the new adoptive mum of a garter snake, his previous owner wasnt too interested in him and forgot about him, so i became its carer.
he is average 80cms long, and appears to be in good condtion. at the moment he is housed in a small tank 46cm lengthX 30cmwidth X 17 high with a heat pad. i know its too small and i would like to upgrade to a better housing for him, what size should i go for? ive seen tall tanks in the local shop (exo terra brand ) would that be ok?
in addtion within the last few weeks he has become less active and preferres to hide under his bedding. could he be hibernating?
also ive tried to feed him on other food stuffs than goldfish but he refuses to take any interest, i use a supplement for his water at the moment.
sorry for the questions, this is very new to me!!

[Sid]

HI and welcome to the forum. Greg has given good advice on viv size. It should be at least as long as your snake. Height can be a big plus if your snake likes to climb but not really necessary.

[enigma200316]

welcome to the forum..............:)

[anji1971]

Hello, and welcome!! :)

[Stefan-A]

Welcome aboard. :)

[Odie]

Hi, from Oregon, Nethna :)

[Lori P]

Welcome!! You've already gotten some good advice... give him time to settle in with you, too, and realize he will make any changes slowly. We'd love to see pics! :-)

[drache]

welcome to the forum

[adamanteus]

Hi Eithne, and welcome to the forum.:)
Sound advice so far. Let us know how you get on.

[nethna]

thanks everyone, for being welcoming to me!. over the weekend i'll try snakey with some new food, i have thought about the wooden housing, but i was unsure of suitable heating for it.
also he has been very inactive lately and preferes to burry himself under his bedding, could he be hibernating?
i think that he could be a ribbon snake, but iam unsure to excalty what type
here is a pic of snakey
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c240/pete4130/snakey.jpg
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/%5BIMG%5Dhttp://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c240/pete4130/snakey.jpg%5B/IMG%5D

[adamanteus]

Yeah, that's a Ribbon!;)

[Lori P]

Oh, he's very pretty!! He may be a bit slow for the winter if your house temps are lower too... what temp do you keep him at?

[tikichick]

Very nice snake!

[anji1971]

What a pretty snakey!!!:)

[Sid]

Very nice looking Ribbon and great photo.

[Serpentine99]

thats a ribbon all right. Have fun feeding him rosie reds in a dish, me and my siblings always get front row seats to watch it. Ribbons are masters of fish catching.

[Snaky]

Nice looking Ribbon.
Welcome to the forum and have fun here :)

[drache]

very nice ribbon
enjoy

[Sid]

I beleive your Ribbon is an Eastern Thamnophis sauritus sauritus.

[Stefan-A]

I'm just curious, but wasn't one of the ways to tell the difference between proximus and sauritus to see if it had those two fused dots on the top of its head?

[Serpentine99]

I always thought that varied on the snake and was a trait between both subspecies, have to look at mine more closely.

[nethna]

thanks everyone for being helpful.
i read up on ribbon snakes and it fits snakeys discription !
he got his new home today, so hes looking happy as he can strech out in it, anyhows the room temp where he is staying is average 16c / 60 f
at the moment ive got a heat pad in the tank, should that be enough to keep him warm? the new tank mesures : 18'' x 18'' X 18''
thanks

[GarterGirl]

Wait, wait! Not so fast! Is is too late to say welcome?

"No..."

Ok, welcome to the forum!

[nethna]

Here are some pics of snakey in his new home. He seems to like it. Will he ever climb at all?

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c240/pete4130/snake4edit.jpghttp://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c240/pete4130/snake2edit.jpghttp://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c240/pete4130/snake1edit.jpghttp://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c240/pete4130/snake3edit.jpghttp://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c240/pete4130/snakehome.jpg

[Lori P]

Very nice home he has there!! Good job.

Yes, he'll climb when he's ready; my ribbon snake is always either at the very top of the tank on the highest branch or at the very bottom, burried. LOL Like he has no in between.

[Stefan-A]

Very nice photos. :)

[drache]

Snakey is beautiful
and he seems to enjoy his new home - nice job
he'll climb - not to worry

[anji1971]

Nice pics!! I've probably already mentioned it, but that is a really nice-looking snake!:cool:
Hopefully my spring snake-hunting will be successful this year -- I'd love a ribbon snake myself.

[mycolorfulheart]

your snake is adorable and you take really good pics!

[Snaky]

Nice new pics :)